Bones
by theColorThief
Summary: Aching. Burning. Everywhere. He didn't care. He closed his eyes and dipped his head back into the liquid, eyes rolling back into his head. A chill came over him as he felt the burning now under his finger nails, causing his fists to clench. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." He thought, as he opened his eyes and was instantly overcome by pain. He screamed. They had found him.
1. one

"Do you understand the confidentiality agreement?"

"Yes."

"Well then, because this is our first session, I'm going to be asking you some simple questions, is that okay with you?"

"Yes."

A shuffling of papers.

"What do you like to do when you're not in school?"

"Walks."

"You like to go for walks?"

"Yes."

The sound of pen on paper.

"What makes you feel happy?"

"Snow." "Does other weather make you sad?"

"Yes."

"Why's that?"

"The snow's gone."

A fake laugh.

"I suppose that makes sense."

"Yes."

"Do you want to tell me why you're in my office today?"

"Not really."

"I was hoping you'd say 'yes' again."

"That's too bad."

"You do know that I already know the answer, right?"

A readjustment of feet.

"Yes."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

* * *

He was lead out of the room by a very kind woman who stitched her words in lace and coated them with honey and promises to make his stay comfortable. Jack didn't believe it for a second. He was there to be fixed. He was broken. He'd been broken.

When the soft brown door opened with the label "221" Jack knew he was home. He looked around the strange room and spotted a boy sitting with crossed legs on the bed to the left. He seemed to be drawing something on a large sketch pad at the foot of the bed. Jack couldn't help but notice how awkwardly large the boy's green long-sleeved shirt was. Next, Jack's eyes trailed to his forearms where his sleeve was held to his wrist with a thin brown twine. The boy looked up and the newcomer and his calmed expression fell.

"This is Jack Overland. He'll be your new roommate. Jack, I'll let this one introduce his own name, because I know I'll get it wrong." The woman smiled so warmly Jack felt as if he'd melt.

"Hiccup." The strange boy said softly, his forest eyes wide with a blank expression, "My name is Hiccup."

"Is that so?" The sugar-coated woman smiled again. Everything seemed to make her smile. She then turned to Jack and whispered, "It changes every week."

Then "Hiccup" spoke, "Not true." He said, the slightest hint of anger slipping out from under his tongue, "It's been Hiccup for a good month."

"Alright, Hiccup." Said the sickly sweet one, turning back to Jack, "Don't hesitate to go to the front office if you need any help." She chirped, backing out of the room and closing the door quieter than Jack had ever heard.

Then, he turned back around to look at Hiccup who was back to drawing on the sketchpad. Jack gulped, turning to his right to the bed he would be calling his own. It seemed nice enough. Light blue sheets and soft green pillows at the head. A silver blanket draped over the frame at the foot. There was a large wicker basket on the floor at the foot, probably to hold the personal items Jack didn't have. Jack meandered over and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing the boy who was lost in drawings. Unsure of what to do next, Jack opened his mouth, but was cut off by Hiccup.

"Bulimia." He said, as carelessly as a dinner conversation starter.

Jack gulped down his words, choking on his train of thought, "W- huh?"

"That's what you were going to ask, right?" Hiccup answered, glancing over to Jack, a lock of brown hair falling across his right eye, "Why I'm here. In this..." His eyes darted around the lightly painted room, "...Place." After glancing once more at Jack, he went back to drawing and finished with, "Bulimia Nervosa, Body Dysphoria and Anxiety."

Jack took a moment to realize what had just happened, his thoughts trailing off to a range of things before they latched back onto the current situation, "Y- yeah. Sorry. I, uhm... Yeah."

"Why are you here?"

"Insomnia and Depression."

"I asked why you're here, not what you have."

Jack paused, "But you only-"

"I told you what I have because that's why I'm here." Hiccup cut him off once again, "People can live with Depression and Insomnia and be just fine, but you're here, and I want to know why."

Silence.

"'The first part about fixing the problem is acknowledging that there is a problem.'" Hiccup recited in a lengthy, mocking, monotone voice, "They're going to make you share anyways, you might as well get it off your-"

"I, uh..." It was Jack's turn to interrupt, "I took a bath in bleach."

Hiccup looked up, his eyebrows raised, "And here I thought you'd dyed your hair." The boy was now looking over the whitened fellow, noticing the patches of pink along his frail neck, "You can't have been in for long."

"Not too long. And it wasn't even 100% bleach. I didn't know it, but my mother likes to water down what we have so we don't waste money. Too bad, huh?" Jack said with a laugh that soon faded once he realized exactly what he had just said.

To Jack's surprise Hiccup laughed. Granted, it was more of a scoff, a huff of air that came out his nose as the corners of his mouth inched up slightly. Jack realized that the stranger had probably made his fair share of suicide jokes. Jack noticed that his back was hunched over, a reaction, his psychology teacher once told him, that was caused by insecurity. He straightened his spine, then turned his neck to look at the inviting sheets. If only he could sleep for a while. Maybe a day or two, or a month, or maybe a year. Just long enough for this all to be over so he could be happy again. His weakened body gave in to his longing and he could feel himself slowly crumple over, sinking onto his side as he lifted the blue sheets and sliding his long legs under. He wrapped himself in the warmth, the cotton irritating the wounds on his neck, but he didn't care, because in his moment he was safe.


	2. two

He was woken by the sound of laughter.

"Ha! Look at him!" Came a shrill shout of someone he had never heard before. Jack arched his back and moved his hands underneath him, lifting himself from the tangle of sheets he was stuck in. He looked around him and first saw Hiccup on the bed next to him, in the same position he'd been in when Jack had fallen asleep. Jack's eyes then drifted over to the doorway where he saw a girl with a massive jumble of fiery curls that trailed to her hips. She seemed to be laughing at him.

"Wha-?" Jack grumbled in a sleepy confusion, pushing himself to sit upon his folded legs as he rubbed his right eye.

"You look ridiculous!" She cackled, cradling her stomach in her arms as she bent over in laughter. Her voice was dripping with an accent that Jack couldn't place.

Jack frowned, overcome with a feeling of indignation, "Fuck off." He growled, combing his fingers through his newly whitened hair that spiked in all directions.

"No." She said simply as Jack began to unwrap his legs from the blankets they were tangled in.

It was Hiccup's turn, "Seems you got to sleep just fine. Good job. They'll probably give you a metal or a gold star or something." He remarked, hint of a smile in his voice.

"Yeah yeah, don't celebrate just yet." Jack grumbled, sliding his legs off the side of the bed and stretching his arms out to the side of him.

"So you're the Overland boy, eh?" The strange girl asked, leaning against the frame of the door.

"That's me." Jack said, standing up and bending backwards, a loud crack sounding as his bones snapped into place.

Hiccup cringed.

"Well, it's dinner time now, and we need to go to the dining room. They sent me to get you." She then turned to Hiccup, "The _both _of you."

Hiccup looked up at her, then quickly back down.

Jack watched, slightly confused but ignored it and began walking towards the door. Once he was standing in front of the redhead girl, he said, "Can you move?"

"I'll move when I want to."

"Merida, be nice to the new kid." Hiccup muttered, not looking up from the sketchpad.

The girl narrowed her eyes on Hiccup, then turning to Jack with a threatening glare as she gradually dragged herself away, her back sliding along the wall as she held her locked gaze on Jack.

Jack smiled warmly, the warmth of victory heating his stomach, "Thanks, sweetie."

"Hold on there, Jack." Merida fumed, an obvious anger flushing her cheeks as she stormed after him.

Jack soon realized he knew nothing about the layout of this place. He stopped in the middle of the hallway, letting Merida catch up to him.

"If you think you can talk to me like that, you're wrong. Don't think you can just-"

"Calm down, princess. It does-"

"Don't you DARE tell me to calm down!" Merida roared, fists clenched at her side as she turned away and stormed off.

Jack chuckled, rolling his eyes and he followed her on light feet.

He soon found himself in a room with white tables and benches attached. There seemed to be plenty of room. In fact, if they wanted to, everybody could claim an entire table to their own. Yet it seemed that most were grouped and bunched together, talking in voices just over a whisper. Jack had half a mind to sit alone, just like the few scattered about the edges, but he then noticed the nice woman who led him to his room this morning squatting down where Merida was sitting. She was looking up at Merida, a look on her face that screamed "I'm only being nice to you because they told me to." Then Merida said something that Jack couldn't quite hear and the woman nodded, standing up and catching Jack's eye. She smiled and made her way over.

"So I hear you've met Merida."

Jack nodded, gritting his teeth. Something about this woman seemed off to Jack.

"I don't think I ever properly introduced myself. My name is Maudie."

Jack nodded again, offering a counterfeit smile before he muttered something about being hungry and pushing past her to where Merida was sitting.

Jack was three steps from her when she spoke, not even turning around to look at him, "Don't even think about it, Overland." She growled.

Jack stood still, frozen like a sculpture. He glanced around at the others at the table for help in his momentary panic, but the only voice he heard came from behind him.

His obvious despair caught Hiccup's attention. Jack turned around to see the boy frowning, "Play nice, Merida."

The redhead shot him a glare.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, sitting at the table and then directing his attention to Jack, his frowned replaced with a warm smile that felt genuine, "Do you want to sit with us?"

This was immediately answered with displeasure, "What?! You can't do that, Hiccup! Do you have any idea what he's-... I mean he's just so-... h- he's just-... Ugh!" Merida huffed, burying her face in her arms which rested on the table.

Jack grinned, "I'd love to, Hiccup." He slid in the spot next to Hiccup, looking around at the new faces with joy.

"Jack, this is Astrid, Zelia and-" Hiccup began, but Jack's eyes widened as he spotted someone he recognized.

"East."

The pair of green eyes were already narrowed and locked upon him, "Jack." The boy mumbled.

"So I guess you're okay then." Jack let out an airy laugh, not believing his own eyes.

East glared, "Hardly."

"No need to be so angry, Cottontail. I was worried about you. Why are you here anyways? I thought North adopted you a long time ago."

"Jack stop." East growled through gritted teeth.

"You were a right Daddy's Boy. What did you do to get on his bad side? Is that why you're here? Did he finally snap?"

East clenched his fists, "Shut up, Jack."

"Oh, c'mon. It couldn't have been too bad. What did Tooth have to say? That must have been good. And Sandy? How's he?"

"JACK. SHUT UP."

The room fell silent.

Jack was surprised to see East towering over him, a fist clenched around the collar of Jack's hoodie. Jack wasn't sure how he had so quickly moved around the table and over to him, but at this point Jack was too flustered to care. He sat frozen, sinking into the silence, wishing he could just disappear.

East's threatening glare faltered, and then broke. His fist released with a shove as he made his way back around the table and plopped in his seat, shoveling the meal into his mouth.

Hardly anybody moved, all exchanging awkward glances or avoiding eye contact entirely. Then Merida spoke.

"Your dad's name is North?" She asked, a mischievous grin inching its way up her cheek.

* * *

"Let me guess; there's a ping-pong table too." Jack teased, his hands shoved into his pocket as his eyes trailed around the seafoam walls.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Some find it calming." He reasoned, disappearing around the corner with a playful smirk.

Jack snickered, following after. He was greeted with the overpowering smell of air freshener. Jack coughed, bending over and crying out, "WHY?" His eyes watering.

"That's probably because of Gobber. You'll learn to appreciate the flowery-freshness once you meet him."

Jack wiped the salty tears from his reddened eyes and looked around. Light green chairs and fawn brown tables with laced coverings. A few orchids decorated the tables, one of which Maudie was watering. She soon noticed Jack and smiled warmly at him. Jack turned away quickly, his eyes following Hiccup who was walking across the room to... yep. A ping-pong table. Jack grinned, watching the boy arrive at his destination, grab a paddle, then turned around to offer a challenging smile to Jack.

He was over in a heartbeat, snatching a paddle of his own.

Hiccup held the ball in front of his paddle, "Do you know how to play?"

"Not officially, no."

"Me neither." And then he served.

Jack lunged forward, just barely thwacking his paddle's surface against the plastic orb. Hiccup was a bit more graceful, lifting his elbow up to scoop downward in an underhanded pass. Jack once again managed an awkward flail of limbs that ended with a successful smack. After a few passes and a couple misses, Jack managed to get used to the motion of turning his paddle just right so the ball flew effortlessly where he wanted it to go. Soon, he was away from the game, away from this ward, and away from the world entirely. He was in his own where time had no meaning other than the ticking of the clock and he could go wherever he wanted. Without any conscious choice, Jack's thought traveled to the past; the places he'd been and the people he'd met along the way. His wandering vision rested on an autumn day at the orphanage. The color of his hair matched the color of the earth beneath him, the tree trunk pressed to his back, and his sister's eyes.

She sat next to him, her yellow dress shining in the shade of the orange leaves. Her pink lips were grinning over her pearly white teeth. Jack could see his mouth moving but heard nothing but a muffled sound. His sister was laughing. Jack dramatically rolled his chocolate brown eyes contacts. He was wearing the contacts today to match his sister's natural eyes. It was all for her. This day had to be special, it was her birthday. Today was her day. She was smiling. She lifted tentative fingers to the left side of Jack's chest.

Jack heard clearly this time, "You've got a good one."

"What? Boob?" Jack teased, "I've got a good boob?"

"No, Silly." She rolled her caramel-dipped eyes, her smile not breaking and said, "It's what's under your boob that's good."

Jack took the compliment to the heart she was commenting on, but never told her. He just laughed and moved on. He never told her just how much it meant to him that she thought so. He could have spent his whole life wondering, but once she'd confirmed it, his search was over. He was fou-

A hand pressed to his back, ripping Jack out of his trance. He looked up through red, puffy eyes and saw Hiccup. The concerned expression was glaringly obvious. Jack realized he was squatting, his hands red from being clenched around the paddle that now lay a few feet from him. He looked around and was just about everyone huddled around him. Jack wiped hot tears from his cheek, looking down at the clear liquid in shock. His eyes lifted to meet the ones watching him as he sniffled faintly.

He slowly rose to his feet and cleared his throat, "Where's the bathroom?"

Hiccup's gaze was locked on Jack, and without turning around, he lifted a finger to point across the room at a blue door.

Jack nodded his thanks and quickly shuffled through the small crowd and towards the quiet room he would soon find himself in.

* * *

There was a knocking at the door. A hurried rapping that made Jack's heart beat faster in his chest.

"Just a minute." He responded, splashing cold water from the running sink over his pale, splotched skin.

"Jack, it's me." Hiccup's voice was muffled through the door, but Jack could hear the concern, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just fine." Jack said, unable to hide the quiver in his voice.

"Jack please tell me the truth."

"Hiccup, it's just my first night. I'm not used to it here. Things like this happen. I'm fine." He said, piecing together his thoughts unskillfully.

"Jack, you're sick. The only way you can get better is if you let someone know when something's wrong. It's okay to ask for help."

He was making sense and Jack hated it. He considered the options but instead settled for letting out a frustrated growl and sinking to the floor with his elbows resting on his knees, pinkened and raw fingers tangling themselves in white locks.

The door flew open, "Jack?" Hiccup looked around the small bathroom frantically, letting out a sigh of relief.

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin, "I locked the door!"

"Jack, please. What kind of Mental Hospital do you think we'd be if we had working locks?" Hiccup sank down, sitting next to Jack with his back to the walls and legs criss-crossed as usual, "So," He began, "Do you want to talk now?"

_Oh great,_ Jack thought, _Another therapist._

"I've been where you are, Jack." Hiccup said, his eyes lifting from the floor to glance at Jack comfortingly, "I understand that you're hurt, even if I don't know how or why."

A pair of traitorous blue eyes lifted to meet a pair of soft brown ones. Although it wasn't noticeable though his already pink skin, Jack felt his face flush, a sudden heat of embarrassment filling his lungs. He diverted his gaze, his now sweaty fingers fumbling together as a distraction.

"I just want you to know that I'm here if you need me." Hiccup said, his voice softer, more meaningful and honest that Jack had heard in a while.

There was a pause before Jack nodded.

That was enough for Hiccup. He smiled warmly, nudging Jack's shoulder with his own and saying, "Stop being so sad all the time, it's annoying." He joked.

Jack gave him a look that read, "Really?" but a grin was plain as day.

* * *

A clicking of buttons, a tapping of feet. A dull glow that reflected off of still surfaces and anxious energy purely from the time of night. The whole room was shadowed apart from the lighting of the screen that barely reached the faces of the patients. One of them was Jack. His white hair had not been cleaned and was henceforth greasy. He had been anxiously popping his gum for the past hour, it's flavor weak and bland. He glanced over to the other face, the only one who had managed to stay up just as late as him. Zelia looked up, noticing the pair of blue eyes locked on her hair and smiled sweetly before wiping the expression from her face entirely and turning back to the screen. The game they were playing was one that Maudie had dug up. It involved cartoon rabbits and a lot of minigames that Jack didn't quite understand. The game was more of a conversation piece for the two, although neither of them were talking. They clearly had a lot to say though. One of Zelia's feet was tucked under her other leg which was stretched all the way down to the floor. Her grey sweatpants along with her large purple sweater covered her completely. Her long blonde hair trailed over the end of the blonde ottoman she'd chosen to sit on. Jack however, has claimed the couch that matched. They sat side by side in complete silence of the dark.

Jack noticed the bobbing of Zelia's knee. _Anxiety, maybe?_ Jack thought, _She looks anxious._ He decided to break the silence so she wouldn't have to.

"So, uhm." Jack began, trying to think of anything interesting to say, "Zelia, huh? That's an interesting name." He decided to ignore the reddening of his face and focus on the game.

"Yeah, not many people have heard of it." She laughed awkwardly, glancing up at his with curious green eyes.

Jack caught her gaze for a second, noticing her elegant posture. She seemed oddly confident for someone who acted so shy. Jack looked away, trying with all his might to not send off any signals of his own thoughts.

"I sure haven't." He muttered, hardly loud enough for her to hear. There was another pause, the rabbit on the television making some odd noise that didn't make any sense to Jack at all. Rabbits don't make that sound. He selected Round 2.

"You can call me Zel if you want." She said.

Jack smile, "I like that."

"Me too."

"Hey, how did you manage to stay awake?" Jack eventually asked, genuinely interested.

Zel's cheeks lifted softly, "I could ask the same of you."

"Insomnia."

"Oh."

Another pause. Jack sunk a little deeper into his chair, hating himself for turning the normal conversation into an awkward one. He wished he could take it back, tell her that he doesn't sleep much or that he's too energetic tonight. Instead he ended up ruining a perfectly good dialogue. He wanted to apologize, and right when his shame was about to slip from his parted lips, she spoke.

"I've gotten a lot of sleep lately. I guess I kinda stored up."

Jack released the breath he'd held. He could feel the air travel to his fingertips, the usual chill sinking through his skin as he relaxed. He let out an airy laugh in response, "I guess that makes sense."

Silence, then Zel spoke, "Why bleach?"

Jack's eyes widened, his voice cracking when he responded, "You, uh... you heard about that?"

She laughed, "People here don't really keep secrets."

Jack frowned, "I'll keep that in mind." He sighed, "And, I dunno really. I guess I'd tried everything else."

Zel looked back over at him, her eyebrows pulled together and lifted with worry. She slowly blinked and looked away. Another silence dragged its way between them. The next time she spoke, her voice was quieter, more meek, "I'm sorry." She said.

Jack looked over at her, surprised by the response. He looked away, "It's not your fault." Jack strained to hear some kind of response from her, but heard nothing, not even breathing. This girl was good at being quiet.

"Still sorry." She said, finally.

"For what?"

"That you were ever feeling that way." Zel sniffled, "And if you still do."

It was Jack's turn to fall silent. He could feel his heartbeat in his eardrums. He wanted to say something, but the idea of recovery only filled his head with confusion and frustration and he ended up muttering, "If I didn't still feel like that, would I be here?"

She looked down at her controller sadly for a moment then looked back up at the screen, "I just get this feeling from you." Zel said, not bothering to play the minigame Jack had selected in which you shot the strange rabbits out of a cannon in order to see how far you could get them to go. Jack noticed her lack of effort and glanced over as she spoke again, "I feel like you're going to recover, Jack."

Jack stiffened. He felt every muscle in his body tense and simultaneously relax in a strange sensation of euphoria. Like being lifted into the air on a cloud. He could only manage to gulp. That might have been the most promising thing anyone had ever said to him. He felt a warmth fill his chest and his eyes swell.

Then Zel stood up, gently setting her controller on the table which the screen rested. She stretched, her arms spread out above her head as her eyes shut with a loud yawn. Her arms quickly relaxed, falling to her sides with a thud and she turned to smile at Jack, "I'm going to sleep, okay?"

Jack nodded slowly and was about to speak when he saw her advance, her arms opening and wrapping around him in a loving hug. Jack relaxed, setting down his own controller and embraced her. With a squeeze, she pulled away and made her way to the door, "Try to get some sleep yourself, alright? You don't have to do it; just try." And with that, she was gone.

* * *

Jack bit into the hardened bread, scowling at the flavor, "I can't believe they call this butter." He muttered, shivering as he swallowed. His hand found the mug of coffee he'd poured himself and he brought it to his lips quickly. After glugging down the hot beverage he set the mug down, wiping his lip and glancing around at the others.

Zel smirked at him, "I told you not to try it." Her hooded eyes glanced to her own plate which had not been touched. Jack noticed her shudder. He tilted his head slightly, obvious concern on his features.

"If you're going to eat the bread, go with the jam." Astrid said, shoveling a bit of pancake into her mouth.

Jack glanced over to where the jam was and sighed, pushing his plate away from him.

Hiccup glanced over for a second, then back to his own plate and gulped. Jack could see the wheels in his head turning. Hiccup's gaze was locked onto the plate with a kind of determination that intrigued Jack. In a rush, Hiccup picked up a fork, jabbed it into some egg and shoved it into his mouth, chewing so fast that Jack wasn't sure if Hiccup had even tasted it. The second Hiccup swallowed, he leaned back, arms crossed over his chest and his back hunched.

Astrid, who was sitting next to the brunette, smiled softly, resting a loving hand on his back, "I'm proud of you, Hiccup."

His worried gaze lifted to meet Astrid's and he smiled half-heartedly.

A shrill squeak came from behind them, "Oh, Hiccup!" Maudie rushed over, surprising all of them, "Did you just eat some egg? Wonderful! That's three for you!" She was about to hug him when Hiccup pushed her away, "Fuck off." He muttered, staring angrily down at his plate.

Maudie looked shocked, like a deer in headlights. Then she huffed, eyes narrowed and turned to leave.

Jack watched her go, turning back to the group to meet Astrid's gaze. Jack gaze her a questioning look and after sighing, she slowly shook her head, turning back to her own meal.

Jack sighed, looking around the room. He instantly spotted East, coming from down the hall and into the lunchroom. Jack stood up, making his way over, "Hey, East."

The boy perked up instantly, his eyes widening and darting around the room before he grabbed Jack's collar, dragging him around the corner and out of sight, "Listen, Overland. I've had it pretty good here and I don't need you ruining it with your blabbering mouth of yours. Got it?"

Jack shoved East off of him, "Fine, goddamn. No need to get handsy." He pulled at the bottom of his jacket, straightening it out, "Are you ever going to talk to me normally?"

East had his fists clenched, his ashen hair falling over his emerald eyes. Jack noticed how the boy had not changed his style one bit. His black tank top hung loosely on his shoulders and his brown khakis stopped just after his knees. Then he spoke, "Only if you stop being such a pisshead."

Jack laughed, "I don't know if that's going to happen." Although his old friend towered over his, Jack felt as if he was the taller one in this argument.

East growled angrily, turning and stalking away.

Jack chuckled, rolling his eyes and turning towards the entertainment room.


End file.
